


Like a knight

by Meilean



Series: Brotherhood AU [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brotherhood AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28410768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meilean/pseuds/Meilean
Summary: John has prepared a personal bootcamp for the boys on the farm. But things never come out as planed.
Series: Brotherhood AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2080896
Kudos: 3





	1. Onto the farm

**Author's Note:**

> A / N: Everything from Supernatural is owned by Erik Kripke, the Brotherhood AU is owned by Ridley C. James and Tidia. Thank you for these wonderful worlds

The bag made a clapping sound on Mac's expensive parquet floor. Caleb was soaked and annoyed. He struggled out of his boots, which, much to his father's desperation, he wore to school too, after John Winchester had told his son he had to get used to them and best wear them every day. The teen carelessly left one. shoe in the hallway and the other under the kitchen table. He went to the fridge and took the milk out supplemented by a cup and honey from the cupboard.

Damn the weather today! Caleb looked at the clock. It would took Mac a little longer to come home. Soon he was sitting at the counter in the kitchen with a hot honey milk. He had gotten so fucking cold on the way home through Manhattan. But luckily it was Friday and he was already looking forward to Mac coming home and they could soon leave for Jim's. He hadn't seen Deuce and Sammy in three weeks. Surely the Runt had learned endless new words.

After his milk he went to his room and took off his wet jeans and slipped into a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a dry sweater and started packing his bag for the weekend. When that was done and Mac was still not home, he pulled "The Art of War" out of his packed bag and immersed himself in the tome. John wanted him to read the chapter by the weekend. But the stuff, if not as boring as the math and English books, was dry and soon you could hear nothing more than the snoring of a rather exhausted teenager in the apartment until the key was turned in the lock.

The first thing Mac greeted was the soaked school bag next to the door. He sighed and looked down the hall and a crease formed between the surgeon's eyes as he spotted Caleb's lonely shoe.

"Caleb! I'm home."

It stayed silent. Mac's gaze darkened as he walked down the hall to Caleb's room. He knocked.

Thump thump thump

"Caleb!"

The door was thrown open and his son looked at him happily.

"Hey Dad, when are we leaving?"

"Thank you my day was good, too. How about you clean up the mess you made first? "

The bunch of black hair peered out of the door and looked down the hall. He saw immediately what had depressed Mac's mood and quickly ran to the door to clean up the mess. After both shoes were reunited and the wet backpack was in Caleb's room, he was confident that his father had to be satisfied now.

"Are you finished with everything son?"

"Yes of course Dad, when we've eaten we can go."

Mackland frowned in disbelief. Since Caleb was at the new school, his grades have been better. But Caleb had an unhealthy attitude towards homework, so Mac didn't quite trust the statement.

"Ok, then show me your homework and I'll make some burgers. Then we can go."

Caleb's heart sank. Mac couldn't be serious. Homework? It was the weekend. He could still do them on Sunday when they were back. He thought homework was overrated anyway, as he spent enough time in school to learn all that stuff. So he groaned morosely and started a discussion.

"But Dad, I can do it when we get back."

"Caleb, you haven't even started yet? Why not?"

"First I had to recover from the stress of school. You don't even realize how exhausting such a school day can be."

"Son, we don't leave until you finish your work."

"But Dad, the others will be waiting for us."

"No! No 'but dads', you better start then you will be done when we can eat."

Mac thought he had spoken a word of power and turned to change. His son slammed the door grumpily. The doctor just didn't understand why children always had to start discussions about the same things. Caleb knew the rules. Knock before entering, take off your shoes in the hallway and homework will be done on Friday. It really wasn't that difficult.

Caleb saw it differently. He should have known better than trying to bend Mac's rules. He sighed and began to unpack his schoolbag and put the necessary books and notebooks on his desk. Everything was wet and the notebooks began to curl at the edges. Just fucking great!

Just 10 minutes later, the teen's head ached from the stupid functional equations. He was thirsty, his throat was feeling completely dry, so he decided it was time to take a break and went into the kitchen to get some water. Mac was already at the fridge unpacking everything necessary for the burger.

"Finished already?"

His son just rolled his eyes and made a disgruntled grunt and disappeared back into his room with his bottle of water.

The numbers on the checkered sheet just didn't make sense. Such a bullshit, sometimes Caleb wished Dean was there, he could be presented with almost any math problem and got a solution as quickly as possible. He began to scribble lost in thoughts alongside his calculations.

The knock on the door brought him back to his homework. Mac stuck his head in the door.

"And how far are you?"

Caleb sighed heavily.

"Dad, this is a total waste of time. I don't understand a single fucking thing"

"Son! Language! Come on, the food is ready, I'll take a look afterwards."

Caleb dropped the pen and shuffled after Mac, now he really had a headache. The day just got better and better.

At least Mac's burgers were tasty. Usually he could devour two, but today he had been busy with one for a long time and didn't really feel ready for mental work heights afterwards. But Mac did not allow himself to be negotiated and sat down with Caleb on the functions to solve the tasks together with him.

Two hours later even the usually calm doctor ran out of patience and he admitted Caleb to take the homework to Jim and do the rest tomorrow. He looked again at the math notebook and while he was studying the Sun Tzu strategy plans that Caleb had drawn on the sides, he wondered if it had really been such a good idea to entrust John with his son's hunter education. On the other hand, you had to use your talents where they fit and the boy's history grade spoke volumes about his talents.

It was late at night when Mac and Caleb drove onto the gravel outside Jim Murphy's farm. The pastor had left the porch light on. Caleb had gotten some Tylenol from his father, which fortunately had helped with the headache. Still, he longed for a warm bed and Jim's breakfast in the morning. Mac fished the house key from under the pot of the palm tree and let his son enter. The farm was quiet and the lights were only on in the hallway further back in the house when Mac closed the front door, but Jim stepped out of the Hunters Tomb and took his reading glasses from his nose.

"Mackland, Caleb! It's good that you're finally here. I was worried. What has been holding you back for so long?"

Jim pulled Mac into a quick hug and took Caleb by the shoulder for a long look at him.

"Son you look tired. Dean has already prepared your bed for you."

"Thanks Jim, glad we're here."

Jim patted Caleb on the shoulder reassuringly before he let him go. The teen tiredly stomped up the stairs without saying another word to the pastor or his father.

Gratefully he let himself fall into the prepared bed and just managed to take off his boots and wrap his grandma's quilt around himself.

Caleb found himself in familiar surrounding. He was in his parents' beach house.

As always he was in the closet and as always he peeked through the slits and saw the horrific scene of his mother lying on the floor, bleeding. He knew what was coming next. His father, how he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Caleb startled from the dream, he hadn't noticed that a scream had escaped from his throat. Only to startle again the next moment, because Dean's face was only a few inches away from him and the boy grabbed his shoulder.

"Damien, are you okay? You screamed."

The 16 year old ran shaky hands through his sweaty half-length strands of hair.

"Deuce, ..."

He tried to get his breath under control. Dean shouldn't worry about his nightmares too. But he was grateful that he wasn't alone, which he would never confess aloud. Instead, he quickly switched to his usual role.

"We were talking about personal space, right?"

Dean took a step back and looked a little pushed away. Caleb immediately regretted his words and groaned.

"First of all, hi. Everything's okay over there? Is Sammy ok?"

"At least none of us woke up screaming."

"I'm sorry, you can go back to sleep."

Dean made no move to go back to bed.

"What's wrong Deuce? Should I come over with you?"

"No…, but I also had a bad dream."

The boy looked at the floor of the room, embarrassed. Caleb pulled the corner of his mouth up in a short smile and opened the covers to let Dean slip over to him.

"Good night Deuce."

"Night Damien."

"Tell me, have you already calculated functional equations?"

"No, why are you asking?"

"Forget it. Sleep now. Drill Instructor Winchester will surely give us a tough job tomorrow and before that I have to do my homework for Mac."

"I said I haven't tried, that doesn't mean I can't."

Dean grinned conspiratorially at Caleb and they both fell asleep quickly.

The steady tremor that emanated from the older boy woke Dean from his sleep. He gently put his hand on his friend's shoulder. He quietly tried to wake him up.

"Damien. Hey, Damien, what's wrong?"

But his friend didn't reply more than a whimper. Dean put his hand on Caleb's forehead. It felt warm. Finally he reacted to Dean's touch and opened his eyes a crack and spoke very sleepily.

"What's up?"

"Are you ok? You're shivering and are so warm."

"Everything fine Deuce. I'm just tired. And you're heating up the bed like a thermal power station. I'll get something to drink."

The older boy peeled off his blanket and went into the bathroom that branched off in the hallway.

Shivering, he closed the door behind him and leaned on the sink. What was the matter with him? He hadn't caught a cold, did he? That just couldn't be true. He filled his hands with water and washed his face and took a few sips of cool water. Then he searched the bathroom cabinet and quickly found the Tylenol. He wanted to be fit again tomorrow. He had been so looking forward to and prepared hard to spend the weekend with the Winchesters for the last few weeks.

Refreshed and pumped full of medicine, Caleb slid back under the covers.

TBC


	2. Winchester's Bootcamp

Mackland Ames was up early and knocked gently on the door to the room in which Caleb was usually quartered on the farm. When he didn't get an answer, which he hadn't expected, he gently turned the handle. Darkness and silence received him. He stepped closer to the bed and saw a second shape wrapped in Caleb's quilt.

The doctor took a moment and looked at his sleeping charges. He was glad that Caleb and Dean were so connected. It was not least due to his son that Dean had started speaking again. Since then her bond had grown stronger and stronger.

He took heart and gently shook his boy's shoulder.

"Son, wake up. Jim has already made breakfast and after that there is still work waiting for us."

It was Dean who looked at the doctor sleepily.

"Mac?"

"Hey Dean, I didn't want to wake you up yet. You can sleep for another half an hour."

A little embarrassed because he was in Caleb's bed like a toddler. The 8 year old rubbed his eyes.

"No, it's okay, I'll come down with Damien right away."

"OK. I'm curious how you want to wake our sleeping princess."

Mac turned and left the room, turning on the lights to make the boys more awake.

Dean shook his friend who hadn't even flinched yet.

"Reava, beauty sleep is over. Ready for math and then let Drill Instructor Winchester chase your ass across the field?"

"Mmmhhh, le- me sleep -nother 10 minutes."

Caleb felt more like being run over by a truck than ready for math and sports. But Dean didn't give up and so they sat 10 minutes later at the dining table and ate scrambled eggs. At least Dean did. Reaves tried, but his throat ached every time he swallowed.

After breakfast, Caleb's school supplies covered the table and Dean listened with interest as Mac explained the math issue again. It all sounded logical and easy to Dean, but Caleb just couldn't concentrate. Desperate he looked at his little friend. Reading him, on the other hand, was easy and Mac got the answers he wanted, even if they weren't his son's conclusions.

Dean ran outside in front of Caleb wearing only a T-shirt and lumberjack shirt.

What a freaking coldness. Caleb had already frozen and added another layer of plaid shirt to his clothes, but still he pulled the zipper of his parka closed.

John waited with Sammy at the fire wood stack and explained something to the youngest, pointing over and over to the March sun.

"Junior, thought yesterday you two wouldn't make it for the weekend. Good to see you."

Winchester patted Caleb's shoulder with a lot of force in greeting, which made the teen flinch.

"Yes Johnny. I'm also glad not to sit on my homework anymore."

"CALEB!"

The almost 4 year old Sammy ran to Caleb's leg and gave him a warm hug. Whereupon the teen tousled him through his thick brown hair.

"Heya Sammy! You all right kiddo?"

"Ok, today I will explain to you how you can find your way around the terrain with and without a compass. Later we test the whole thing on a little night-O-march. Have you packed your backpacks with everything I wrote down for you?"

"Yes sir." Dean replied obediently. Caleb only nodded, which earned him a raised eyebrow from the knight. But John said nothing for the time being.

*** Brotherhood ***

When the back door to the farm swung open and let in a tired 8 year old and a sullen pale teen, Jim wondered if they would survive the O-March. However, in an emergency, they could not simply stop because of tiredness.

John had let them orientate and when he was satisfied with their skills they had to set up a small camp. Complete with shelter, trap for prey, protection circle and smoke-free campfire. Weapons were checked and a test shooting was satisfactory, although he was used to better performance from Caleb. Despite his eight years of age, Dean had mastered all tasks without complaint. In addition, with Caleb with him, John trusted his son to do the orientation march.

"Daddy, I want to come with you?"

Sammy, you're still too young for that. Jim and Mac will take care of you and I'll be back soon."

"But I want Dee to put me to sleep."

"We can do that too. If they do everything right, they will wake up in their beds tomorrow morning and you can have breakfast together."

Sam pulled a pout but that didn't help the boy either. His father was adamant.

*** Brotherhood ***

Blindfolded, John drove the two boys to the starting point of the venture. They were supposed to find their way back alone and pass a waypoint on the way where John had hidden a crystal that they should bring with them.

When the knight killed the engine, the two were allowed to remove the blindfolds. They were in the middle of a forest and couldn't see anything that was leading in any direction.

Winchester handed them a square piece of a map.

"So boys, I'll see you around 0200. Take care of each other, and remember, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link."

Dean almost looked a bit offended because he saw himself as the weaker link. But a look at Caleb made him pause for a moment. Then his friend straightened and he saluted John.

"Yes, sir! We watch out."

"Ok and now off into the terrain with you, I only drive back when you are out of sight."

John folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the Impala. He watched the two boys armed themselves with flashlights and compass and decided on a path that hopefully would bring them to a higher position so that they could orientate themselves. After they could no longer be seen or heard, the knight sat down in his beloved black car and drove back to the farm.

*** Brotherhood ***

"Damien, from up there we should check whether we can find anything that could be on the map."

Caleb leaned heavily on his knees. They had hiked up to a hill. His lungs ached from the cold air. He was beginning to realize that he should have said something to Mac, that he wasn't feeling well. But he didn't want to disappoint John and he didn't want to stand there as a weakling just because of a small cold. The sharp pain when breathing had only been felt for half an hour and made him rethink his decision.

"… like this way here. There are lights over there Damien, what do you think?"

Dean turned to his friend. He didn't look up or say anything.

"Damien? What's wrong?"

Concerned, the boy walked up to the older one and placed a hand on the bent teen.

"Do you get a vision?"

Sometimes Caleb looked like this before one set in, often he vomited and once he passed out afterwards. Dean became unsure. If Damien fell over he would have to know what was going on before that happened.

"No Deuce, I ... I'll be ok right away. I'm just out of breath. Why do children always run up everywhere?"

"Hey! Who do you call a child here. I can't see Sammy anywhere. Go on private, take your shit, we have to go southwest. I'm pretty sure that's the right direction. I'm too small to drag your heavy ass home to Jim."

Caleb huffed heavily but picked up his backpack and followed Dean down the hill.

John had Dean trained well in tracking and since it wasn't really dry yet, there were enough muddy places to hold tracks. However, they were only seen by chance during the night. The little boy pulled his jacket tighter around him and also buttoned it, he turned his head shortly to look at his friend.

What was the matter with Damien today? Was he sick? Tonight he had already acted atypically, the way he had shivered and sweated.

Dean got a bad feeling in the stomach area. While he was still thinking about Reave's condition, he tripped over a stone and was just able to catch himself on a thin tree, because they had reached a small grove.

The 8 year old shone the flashlight on the spot that had made him stumble. A boulder, lit by the beam of light from its lamp, stuck out of the way.

Caleb saw that Dean's light danced wildly and then stopped. They went staggered with a little distance from each other so as not to fall into a trap. When he caught up with Dean and looked into the cone of light, he knew why the little one hadn't moved on yet. A clear paw print was visible next to the stone Dean had tripped over.

"This is a wolf trail."

"Yes, I can see that too, Deuce. But it could also be days old. Let's go on, I still don't feel like meeting one."

Caleb wiped a few drops of sweat from his forehead in the dark. Dean noticed the gesture.

"Ok enough now and no 'suck it up soldier-attitude', what's wrong with you? A blind man can that you're not okay."

"Huh? There is nothing! At most a little cold. Nothing Deana has to worry her pretty head about."

The older boy left Dean and took the lead. Dean sighed annoyed and followed the teen sourly.

The trees thickened. Caleb compared the area with the map John had given them. It matched the point Dean had made about her position. According to the map, there was a forest in front of them, in which the waypoint had to be. The map blurred in front of his gaze and the young hunter pinched the corner of his eyes with his index finger and thumb. He blinked twice more before he saw the card again.

The path had split a few feet ago, but you could clearly see that this was the right one.

A crack in the underbrush made him look up. It was on his right. The smell of blood tickled his nose. It wasn't Dean because he could feel him right behind.

Reaves drew his hunting knife and illuminated the direction from which the sound had come.

TBC


	3. The Weakest Link

The sight was nothing supernatural, but it was still enough to make your blood run cold.

The beam of light from his lamp revealed a blood-smeared mouth with long, sharp fangs. A deep growl escaped the giant wolf's throat as it loomed over its prey.

Reaves didn't move. He had no desire to end up like the deer that the monster had torn considerable pieces from.

Dean had stopped behind Caleb. The older one was now slowly moving backwards. If the wolf got the idea that they were trying to steal his prey, they would be in real trouble.

Driven back by Caleb, Dean managed to pull himself out of his paralysis and to retreat with his friend.

They managed to pull back a few feet until they reached the crossing in the path again. Then quickly turned in the other path to get space between themselves and the nocturnal hunter.

The path led deeper and deeper into the forest and finally ended as a wrong path. Exhausted, the 16-year-old sank down on a felled tree trunk. Dean took a seat next to him.

"Do you think he's far enough away?"

"I guess so. Deuce, I'm afraid we got a little lost on the run."

"Yes, seams so. Let's look at the map again."

With shaky fingers, Caleb pulled the map from his parka pocket and handed it to Dean. The adrenaline slowly subsided and Caleb felt even weaker than before. He put his elbows on his knees and ran his hands through damp hair. He was hot. That couldn't be right. Temperatures should drop to 3 degrees at night during this time of year.

"Was that the place where we met the wolf?"

The boy pushed the square sheet of paper under the teen's nose. Again everything blurred before Caleb's sight.

"Sounds almost like we had a coffee party with him."

He barely had spoken his teasing comment, as a coughing fit shook Reaves until he had no strength left and fell to his knee. His hands met the wet ground covered with old leaves and he dug his fingers deep in the ground, trying to breathe.

"Deuce, ... something is wrong ... I can't breathe right…"

Another fit shook him and his field of vision was no longer clear until it finally got completely dark.

Dean got scared. More than before when they'd met the wolf. Damien went down in front of him. That he'd said earlier that he couldn't breathe didn't make it any better. The boy shook Caleb's shoulder and tried to pull him up.

"Damien! Damien, get up. Come on don't do this to me. You can't leave me here alone! Damien!"

Dean's desperation grew with every second that Caleb was unconscious. He tried to calm down. Mac always said that panicking was the worst thing you could do in a situation like this. So he tried to remember what to do first.

"Speak to the person first." He had already checked that off.

"Check breathing." Caleb was breathing, that could be clearly heard, for a rattling sound came with every breath.

"Pulse." Dean put two fingers to Caleb's throat. His skin was sweaty and the rattling breath irritated his intuition. He didn't find anything but he had to be there. Dean turned Caleb's head a little to the side and pressed an inch deeper and harder. Finally he felt the throbbing.

"Way too fast."

The boy put the backpack down and took out the first aid bag, spread the golden rescue foil next to the unconscious teen and with a lot of effort rolled him into a stable side position, like Mac had showed them, on the foil and wrapped him like a golden gift. Lying on the side, the breathing sounded a little lighter and the foil would keep him warm until he lit a fire.

It was obvious they couldn't get out of here. It was freezing cold and the boy was also still afraid that the wolf had followed them. He knew that it was no problem for the animal to follow their trail. He could only hope that the wolf was still busy with his feast and had other things in mind than chasing two skinny kids afterwards. A fire would be an additional protection to keep the animal away.

John had advised them to use a tinder box in which they could keep wood chips soaked in wax and cotton wool or birch bark dry. The Winchester kid pulled them out of his backpack and looked for branches that were lying around. Lumberjacks often had to come here to cut trees out of the forest. There were enough smaller branches around that were already dry enough to burn.

Caleb was awakened by the heat from the fire. The heat wasn't just coming from the fire. His whole body burned. He was lying in a rescue sheet on the forest floor. What happened? All he knew was that he had to sit down and then couldn't really breathe.

The teen peeled off its packaging. Dean sat by the fire and chewed a few nuts. The boy looked up when he saw the movement and was quickly with him.

"Damien! You scared the shit out of me. What happened?"

"How long have I been out?"

Another coughing fit caught the teen. He groaned exhausted afterwards. Dean held out the water bottle and helped him take a few sips.

"Easy, Damien. Can you stand up?"

He tried but swayed heavily. Completely exhausted, he let himself sink back to the floor.

"Don't think so at the moment. What time is it, Deuce?"

Dean looked at his watch and the Ninja Turtles showed 3 a.m.

"Three, we should have been back at the farm an hour ago if everything went as planed. But it looks like you've got a bad cold, if not caught the flu. You should have said it yesterday. I guess you're the weaker link in the chain now."

"Shit! I'm sorry Deuce."

"Stop crying Reava. What do we do now?"

"Get the flare gun out of my backpack."

"Are you sure? Dad said to use it only in an emergency."

"Does this look like a barbecue for you? How does John define an emergency?"

"For one thing, someone has to bleed."

"The deer spilled enough blood, so check."

"Haha, seriously, I thought if you take a little rest we can make it to the farm. We leave the waypoint where it is."

"Has the genius already found out where we are?"

"Yes, the genius could at least narrow it down."

The boy held the map under Reaves' nose, who was at least in a sitting position and indicated their supposed position.

If Dean's assumption was correct, and the boy was able to orient himself really well, it was only 4 miles until they reached the outermost fields of Jim's land. The only problem was getting out of the forest. They had to fight their way through the undergrowth, which would be exhausting and both had no desire to run into a wolf again.

Caleb struggled to his feet. He needed a few seconds and held fast on a branch to steady himself.

"I'll be right back. The wilderness calls."

"Are you sure you don't need help?"

The typical finger gesture calmed Dean down a bit. If he got his sense of humor again, he would at least be a little better.

The young hunter stopped at the line of salt, which he noted with recognition.

*** Brotherhood ***

John poured Jonny Walker into his coffee and checked his watch. Mackland looked up from his reading.

"Shouldn't they have been here for an hour, John? Even if they first had to orientate themselves. Maybe we should check on them."

"No, they can do it. There are a lot of reasons why they could take longer."

"Yes and none of it calms me down one bit."

"You should stop the mother hen routine. They will surely show up soon."

As ordered, a sleepy 3 year old stumbled down the stairs. With a one-eyed Woobie-Bear under his arm and without socks, Sammy looked sleepily at the men at the kitchen table.

"Daddy, where is Dee?"

John took Sammy in his strong arms and picked him up.

"Hey Sammy, you should sleep. Dean and Caleb will definitely be here soon."

"Have they got lost in the forest like Hansel and Gretel?"

John rolled his eyes. Mackland had given Sammy a book of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. At every corner the little boy was now making comparisons with the fairy tales. John sincerely hoped his little son wouldn't involve him in another discussion about Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, as he had been for days.

Not much later, Sammy fell asleep again in his father's arms amid the conversations of the men with their deep bass voices. Quiet long breaths indicated a deep sleep.

Another hour later, Mac began pacing back and forth. It drove Winchester insane. He started to share Mac's opinion, and worried about where the two of them were. Did he asked too much of them? But John didn't want to wake Sammy, who was still sleeping in his arms, so he didn't say anything to stop Mac's movement.

*** Brotherhood ***

Dean smothered the rest of the embers with loose earth. After all, he had trusted Caleb to collect the rubbish they had produced. They had put together a little soup from a stock cube and some water from their drinking bottles. Reaves had to regain his strength somehow.

The camp was dismantled and the boys were still scattering the line of salt with their feet. As the older boy shouldered his backpack, he groaned exhausted after his pack was finally on his back. The eight-year-old now took over the lead and they started their way through the undergrowth towards the farm.

Again and again they had to accept small detours, as the path became too impassable. As they had already suspected, it took a lot of energy and time and they had to take breaks again and again so that Caleb could come along, who was repeatedly plagued by coughing fits. Drops of sweat formed on his forehead again and he was very silent.

Dean pushed the thin branches apart in front of him and stood in a small clearing. Poles with skillfully carved animal faces marked a kind of square. Wind chimes adorned with feathers and bones hung from the poles.

Reaves stumbled out of the thicket behind the boy and almost fell over him because he had stopped and was amazed at the structure in front of him, which was illuminated by the moonlight.

"What the hell…" Caleb suddenly knew where they had ended up when he saw the poles.

Another fit of coughing shook him. Too late he saw how Dean approached the poles as if hypnotized.

"Deuce! …. Stop!"

Dean didn't seem to hear him and walked closer and closer to the center of the poles. There the earth was heaped up into a hill that looked ghostly in the beam of light from Dean's flashlight.

The psychic made a leap forward and roughly grabbed Dean by the jacket. Dean stumbled and threw them both off balance. Both fell forward, a hand's breadth across the border marked by the poles.

The 8-year-old looked up and shook his head in confusion as if he had just been torn out of a dream. Caleb groaned and held his aching chest. A growl made them both whirl around. The silhouette of a huge silver wolf stepped towards them from the opposite edge of the forest. He followed every movement they made with an ice-blue penetrating look. A glow surrounded him.

The adrenaline shot through Reaves' veins. He pushed Dean out of the area around the totem poles and grabbed the sawed-off shotgun from his pack.

"Salt circle!" Ordered the hunter, while he reached into his left parka pocket and loaded the shotgun cartridges filled with rock salt. His trembling fingers dropped the first. Then he finally snapped the barrel shut and hit the ghost wolf.

The animal was already in the middle of the jump when he pulled the trigger. The wolf shape dissolved and disappeared.

Dean had meanwhile drawn a generous salt circle with the last salt reserves they had with them. There was enough room for him and Caleb.

"Come on Damien! Hurry up!"

Dean hastily waved to his friend. Who immediately hurried to get into the protective circle. Just in time, because the wolf manifested again and let out a long howl, which was returned from the forest and another three spirit wolves entered the clearing.

"I would say now it would be an emergency for Dad too."

Caleb nodded and reached into the outside pocket of his backpack for the flare gun. He didn't hesitate to fire it. A green ray of light appeared over the clearing and raced toward the sky.

Meanwhile, Dean reached into his own pack and pulled out a 50 cm long iron poker, which he picked up like a baseball bat, ready to strike. Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Did you loot Jim's fireplace tools? You are full of surprises Deuce."

"Dad always says you should be prepared for everything."

The next wolf stepped up to the salt circle and Dean reached out to strike.


	4. The Cavalry

The clock now showed half past four. Jim had meanwhile also joined the men in the kitchen and had taken the sleeping Sammy from John after he had made new coffee.

"I need some fresh air. Are you coming out with me John?"

Winchester nodded and gave Jim Murphy another questioning look. The pastor nodded and gently stroked Sam's back.

The patio door swung open and the Knight and Scholar stepped on the wooden porch and supported themselves against the railing. Both let their eyes wander over the horizon. It was completely quiet out here. This time John began to pace up and down until Mac stopped him.

Since he couldn't calm his nerves by moving, he pulled his cigarettes out of the pocket of his leather jacket and lit one. The end of the cigarette glowed red with every drag on it. John didn't smoke very often, only in stressful situations or playing pool in the pub. But for God's sake, right now he was definitely stressed.

After ten minutes of staring into the night, the two men were about to go back inside and equip themselves when the green signal light of a flare gun appeared over the nearby forest.

"Damn it!" John cursed.

The two men stormed into the farmhouse, each to get his own kit in the form of John's bag and rifle and Mac's doctor's bag and pistol. Jim's head jerked up.

"The boys are in trouble." It was all the pastor got as an explanation.

"Do you know where they are?"

John disappeared upstairs to reappear a minute later, full equipped.

"It looked like the area they should be in. We have to search them on the track. Mac can you get a reading while we drive?"

Winchester didn't wait for an answer and left the house followed by a second worried father. Jim heard the Impala doors slam, and the familiar roar of the engine woke the sleeping cargo on his lap.

"Dee?"

Sam looked into Pastor Jim's face, who had just sent a prayer to heaven asking that the boys will be save.

"Don't worry, Samuel. Have faith, god watches over them. I'll bring you back to your bed."

*** Brotherhood ***

Caleb kept reloading new rock salt cartridges and only fired when a wolf got too close to the salt circle in order to save ammunition. The contents of his pockets nonetheless emptied far too quickly for his taste. They had to buy time if they were lucky enough to have someone, preferably someone on the farm, seen their signal.

The psychic could not only feel his own fear, the emotions that the 8-year-old sent out were anything but calming. Outwardly, however, Dean did not show anything and bravely hit every ghostly wolf shape that came too close to the line of the protective circle.

"Fuck!" Caleb cursed as he reached into a now empty jacket pocket. It didn't take long for the wolves to notice that the teen was no longer firing at them and snorted dangerously close to the ground, so that the line of salt slowly thinned. Caleb watched the spectacle in horror. He could only send one last message before his energy reserves were completely exhausted.

Dad, Indian cemetery, help!

*** Brotherhood ***

Mac sat next to John in the Impala and a brief pain and message flashed through his head. His hands shot to his temples.

"Ahhrg!"

"Mac, are you okay?"

"Yes, it's Caleb, he really needs to work on his telepathic talents. They are at the Indian cemetery and need help."

John swore with colorful words. Caleb knew they should avoid the area.

"It's not far from here."

John jerked the steering wheel around to catch the driveway on the dirt road. Until the path ended. Mac got out, the headache slowly subsiding.

The Knight had rushed to the trunk and fetched his equipment and was now running into the woods with a Maglite on his rifle, Mac directly on his heels.

*** Brotherhood ***

Caleb had sunk to the floor and mumbled something. Dean turned around only to find the hunter next to him passed out. The salt line dwindled with each snort of the wolves, who now stalked the boys from all four sides. Dean's heart was racing and he was breathing to the rhythm of his heartbeat.

"Damien, damn it. You always picking out the worst moments."

Again, he reached out to strike a wolf and again the line of salt became thinner and finally disappeared completely at one point. One of the wolves jumped at Dean and pushed him to the ground. The boy protected himself as best he could with the poker by pressing it against the wolf's open mouth. A second wolf jumped at Dean as a shot echoed through the night and the wolf vanished in mid-jump.

A light from the forest came over to them.

"Dean! Caleb!"

"DAD! Over here!"

John ran into the clearing and spotted his son, who was desperately trying to keep the ghost wolf away. In a now destroyed circle of protection, the form of his protégé lay collapsed.

John docked and shot the remaining two wolves who neared Caleb's body. In the few seconds they bought, he and Mac ran towards their sons. While Dean still fighting the wolf, John's brain worked at full speed. Four posts, four wolves.

"Mac, the talismans!"

The Scholar immediately understood what his brother in arms meant and concentrated when the silhouettes of the wolves reappeared. Winchester docked again. Dean was still fighting desperately with the wolf above him. It stopped as soon as Mac reached out his mental fingers for the talismans. All four wolves now focused on the Scholar.

The four talismans hovered at Mac's feet. John had his back. Dean, exhausted crawled closer to Caleb to protect him. Mackland poured lighter fluid and salt over the feathers, bones, and stones and set the pile on fire with his Zippo. A flame consumed the material and the wolves began to howl and burst into flames until nothing more evidenced the ghostly spectacle.

John was with the two boys in no time and reached for Dean's face to check him for any injuries, when he found Dean healthy, only scratched by bushes. Mac was already over Caleb and tried to wake him. When he got no response, he felt for his pulse. At the first touch, he noticed the heat that radiated from his son and it worried him. He was so hot and his pulse bumped in full force.

"Dean, what happened to him?"

"I ... he said he had a cold and that he couldn't breathe properly. He passed out for the first time at around 3 am. I did everything like you said. Speak up, check breathing, pulse ... he woke up again on his own, but a few minutes before he whispered something and passed out again. Is he ok?"

Mac always had to wonder about Dean. The boy seemed to have a talent for medicine and math. It was a shame John didn't promote his talents. However, he noticed how upset the boy was.

"It's ok Dean, you did everything right. Still, we have to get Caleb to the hospital now. He has a high fever and rattling breathing. I suspect pneumonia. Are you okay Dean?"

Dean just nodded and didn't say much on the way to the Impala. The boy was lugging his and Caleb's backpacks while Mac and John carried Caleb to the car and drove straight to the emergency room in nearby Bardstown.


	5. A Dragons Tale

John watched as Mac explained the situation to the doctor and then quickly disappeared with the staff and the still unconscious Caleb behind the swinging doors.

A pull on his jacket drew his attention back to Dean.

"Dad, will Damien be ok?"

"Sure he will, he is tough."

"What happened on the clearing? How did you find us so quickly?"

John put an arm around his boy and led him to the benches in the waiting area.

"Caleb knew this place. We have been there before. He should stay away from it. It's an old Indian cemetery. We respect the holy places of the native Americans as long as no one is hurt. Since you disturbed the tranquility of the place, the guardian spirits became active and saw you as a threat."

Dean nodded because he understood what his father was talking about.

"But the other wolf, he wasn't a ghost."

"Which other?"

"We stumbled across one before and then lost our orientation."

"I'm sure you or Junior would have noticed if it hadn't been a normal wolf. I'm glad you didn't mess with it either."

John pushed Dean closer at his side and Dean felt protected. For that moment he was allowed to be 8 years old. His father was there and he didn't have to be afraid.

Dean leaned against John's side and fell asleep quickly. The father had spread his leather jacket over the boy and rested a protective hand on him.

Mac was with Caleb who got checked through. The doctor knew how difficult his son could be when it came to hospitals and staff.

The fever worried him. It had risen to 104° F at times. Now he was on an infusion with fluids and antipyretic drugs, as well as an oxygen tube under his nose.

How could Mac just not have noticed that his son had been so battered? He blamed himself, John, and the teenager seriously. That stubbornness could only have rubbed off from John to Caleb.

An uncoordinated movement ripped Mac out of his dark thoughts. Caleb slowly woke. Finally!

"Hey son, it's all right. We are in the hospital. You have a pneumonia."

The doctor knew from experience with Caleb that it was best to tell him right away where and why he was there.

The Teen's eyes fluttered before he opened them and looked dazedly into his father's worried face.

"Dad? What happened?"

Caleb tried to remember as suddenly all became very clear. He opened his eyes in shock and tried to sit up with a jerk.

"Deuce!"

Mac's hands were immediately on his shoulders to calm him down.

"Dean is fine. We found you in time. He's out with John."

Caleb slid back into the pillows, relieved to know Dean was out of danger.

*** Brotherhood ***

Jim put the phone back on the hook. The pastor let out a relieved breath. Caleb was conscious again and would be fine. If all tests went well, he could come home to the farm with Mac in the evening.

Jim turned and went back to Samuel and watched the sleeping boy for a while until he began to wake up.

"Good morning Samuel. Mackland just called."

"Where is Daddy and Dee?"

"They are in hospital. Caleb got sick and needed a treatment."

"Can we go to see them?"

"What do you think if I tell you a story while we're making breakfast first?"

The little boy went into the kitchen with Jim and sat expectantly at the kitchen table while the Guardian mixed the pancake batter. While the dough was set to rest, Jim began his tale.

"Once upon a time there was a young prince. His name was Samuel ..."

Sam's eyes shone.

"His name is just like mine!"

The pastor nodded and smiled.

"Prince Samuel lived in a castle high up on a rock. But he was not alone, his protectors, the dragons lived with him in the castle.

There was the fierce black dragon Oh'Nathan Jay, he was grumpy but brave and fearless and would face any danger that came.

And also Belac, a powerful red dragon, forged in the fires of the Underworld, who could read minds.

His best friend, the emerald green guardian dragon Athewm, also lived there. He was always loyal and self-sacrificing.

When the dragons sought advice, they asked Astorim, the silver, wand-wielding dragon, and there was also Cam, an intelligent blue dragon with healing powers.

They all guarded the castle and protected the prince from the dangers lurking in the magical world.

One day Belac and Athewm were on a reconnaissance flight but had to make an emergency landing because Belac had gotten sick ..."

*** Brotherhood ***

Mac put down the reciever after calling Jim. He had to speak to the doctors now about Caleb's condition. If all test results looked good, he wanted to take Caleb home to Jim's in the evening. The Scholar stepped into the waiting room around 10 a.m. and found two sleeping Winchesters on the seats. He gently touched John's shoulder.

"John…"

The Knight opened his eyes and was with him in seconds. He felt the weight of his son at his side and spoke muffled.

"Is Junior awake?"

"Yes, he's better. He asked for Dean."

Awakened by his name, Dean rose from the familiar smell of leather and weapon oil that surrounded his father.

"Mac? How is Damien?"

"He woke up and asks about you. You can go to him."

The boy immediately jumped up and ran to Caleb's hospital room. John and Mackland stayed behind.

"We have to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again. It doesn't help that he thinks he is expected to put his good before that of the others. Not to that extent. He put himself and Dean in a dangerous situation. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if we hadn't..."

"I got it Mac. And I agree with you that we were lucky. But the Knight is very much expected to put his own good before that of the others."

"John, the two of them are still children, for God's sake!"

"The monsters don't care either."

"Dean should be able to concentrate on school and not get top marks in John Winchester's personal hunter boot camp."

"Stay out of how I raise my boys ..."

At that moment, Jim Murphy entered the hospital with little Sammy, and John and Mac dropped their argument.

Little Sam ran to his father.

"Daddy is Caleb better? Where's Dee?"

"Yes, Sammy, he's awake now. Dean went to him. Come on, let's see Junior too."

"Pastor Jim told me a story of dragons. It was about the fierce dragon Belac and his friend Athewm. They take care of Prince Samuel ..."

Mac rubbed his forehead in a gesture of desperation and looked quizzically at Jim, who innocently held up his hands.

"Children can cope better with reality when it's packaged well ... let an old man have fun, Mackland. You gave him the Brothers Grimm, I have my dragons tale."

*** Brotherhood ***

Dean carefully entered the hospital room. Caleb looked exhausted but smiled at him.

"Hey Deuce. How are you?"

"I'm good, and you?"

"I will be fine. My lungs just hurt like shit when I breathe, but the good stuff runs through my veins now. What happened up there at the Indian cemetery?"

"You mean after you passed out like a girl?"

Reaves showed him the middle finger for his comment.

"Not much besides the cavalry that has come to our rescue. You should have seen how Mac let the talismans float, it was so awesome and then the wolves went up in flames."

"Sounds like a lot of fun."

The door opened and John and Sammy entered the room. Now there was no stopping the 3 year old who pulled his brother into a stormy hug.

"Hey junior, next time there is a report to be made about possible illnesses, ok?"

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry."

"Ok, I know I always say you should suck it up. You just have to find the right middle way. I've heard sometimes even dragons get sick."

Caleb raised his eyebrows questioningly before Sam excitedly repeated the dragon story that Jim had told him.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I quoted the character description of the dragons of Jims Story from Ridley's Stories. Especially form "In The Company Of Dragons" (a totally must-read!)
> 
> Please don't forget to leave a comment. It's all we authors have as a payment. Thank you everyone who left one..
> 
> If anybody want a special thing as a story within the Brotherhood universe, I'd love the challenge to write it or you want to write it. Don't be shy.


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